Fruit-carrier



(No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 1.

W. RHOWELL s WQH. GILBERT. I

FRUIT CARRIER'.

No. 516,437. Patented Mar. 13, 1894.

W. EHWELL M. H G/LBET (No 11101161.) s. sheets-sheet 2.

W. E. HOWELL & W. H. GILBERT. FRUIT 01111111`BR.

No. 516,137.I L Patented MM. 13, 1894.

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(No Model.) l 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

` W. E. HOWELL & W2. I-LGILBERT.

FRUIT CARRIER.

.o M a m .1 w wf M M 1w A m n.. Lw m a. H P W Y x @EV .l.v NG n0 4 nw 1 rnv m N 5 at San Francisco,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. HOWVELL, OF LOS ANGELES,

FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA; SAID HOWELL ASSIGNOR OF A PART TO CASSIE L. ARCHER, OF NORTH SAN JUAN,

AND WILLIAM H. GILBERT, OF SAN CALIFORNIA.

FRUIT-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,437, dated March 13, 1894.

Application filed November 27| 1893. Serial No. 492,142. (No model.)`

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. HOWELL, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, and WILLIAM H. GILBERT, residing in the county of San Francisco, State of California, citizens of theUnited States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to carriers for fruits, and merchandise requiring careful handling, but is primarily connected with-the shipmentA of line fruits.

The invention consists in various novel features of construction whereby We are enabled to produce carriers which are at once light, strong and durable; capable of being packed and shipped in small compass; and which, when in use, cause each piece, bunch or cluszo ter of fruit, or each article, to be suspended apart from others, with free space on all sides for the circulation of air,'and sufficient openings between to permit thorough inspection of all'the contents without 'opening the box, 2 5 crate or package.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure l is a top plan View of a box or crate, provided with our improved carrier or tray, one half the cover being removed to show the tray.

3o Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of a crate containing two trays. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the crate, with one-half the cover removed as in Fig. l. Fig. 4 shows a group of ve trays or carriers nested, or set one within another, for shipment or story age. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one corner of the tray or carrier frame, showing a preferred form of corner post or support; Fig. 6, a perspective view of a tray complete; and 4o Fig. 7, a perspective view showing a number of the dat bars or strips used in constructing the tray-frame,v bundled together for ship-- ment.

In the handling of the fruit crop each season, enormous quantities of boxes, crates or carriers are used, and these are commonly manufactured at a few points and distributed over the country, to be filled and marketed. Numerous attempts have been made so to construct these boxes or carriers as to permit 5a of their being shipped from the factories in a knocked-down state, ready to be assembled for use by the fruit shipper, and designed, in some cases, to be again knocked down and returned to the shipper after use. Such constructions have not proven satisfactory generally, and it has been found in practice that very few cases or carriers are returned, however well adapted for reuse. The bulkiness and weight of the carriers as heretofore con- 6o structed, whether knocked down or assembled, and the consequent cost of shipment to the users, has to that extent lessened the profits of fruit raisers and shippers, and emphasized the need of a carrier which may be shipped at a nominal cost, and which shall be so cheap that it may be discarded after being once used. Our invention has these ob- -jects primarily in view, but in attainingthese important ends we also provide for the more 7o perfect protection of fruit against injury or decay during transportation or storage, and enable the dealer and purchaser to examine the contents of each receptacle without the necessity of opening such receptacle. We also incidentally attain other important results, as hereinafter pointed out.

Referring again to the drawings, A indicates a box or crate such as is now generally employed for the shipment of peaches. Crates 8o or boxes of this character have certain detinite dimensions, agreed upon and adopted by the merchants and boards of trade of leading cities, and thesecrates or boxes may be obtained readily, or made to orderat almost any 8 5 point, hence there is no occasion to ship these to the fruit packers and shippers; nor would this be done at the present time but for the interior trays or fittings required for the separation and proper protection of fine fruits. Knowing the interior dimensions of these boxes or crates, and that they are uniform throughout the fruit sections, we construct our trays, carriers, or holders, of a size to fit accurately within said boxes or crates, and hence have only to ship the trays or carriers,

or the parts of which they are composed.

f which, lying against B indicates our improved tray or carrier as a whole, comprising arectangular outer frame, a series of intersecting cross bars or strips, and a series of pockets or holders suspended from the bars and strips of the frame.

The frame of the tray or carrier may, particularly for small sizes and for light fruits or articles, be made wholly of wire, a heavier wire being used for the main or outer frame and lighter wire for the intersecting strips, or for some ofthem.

In order to afford due strength and stiffness, however, and particularly for the purpose of enabling the user to assemble the parts without difficulty, so that they maybe shipped in a separated state, we preferably construct the tray in the manner illustrated in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive. In said iigures a, a, (t, a., indicate longitudinal strips, and b, b, b, b, indicate transverse strips, preferably made of metal, or of what might be termed flat wire. The sectional area or dimensions of these strips will depend upon the nature of the metal or material of which they are made. This will ordinarily be iron or steel, because of the cheapness and strength thereof. The strips a and 19 are provided with notches c, at their points of intersection, and these notches are arranged or located in opposite edges of each strip, so that they can be inter-locked only by springing the strips, and so also that the resilience of the metal shall tend to retain the parts in their locked condition. The side and end strips are further provided with L-shaped notches d, and the intermediate strips are formed with notches e, all to receive wires f, which being carried from side to side and from end to end, are laid in these notches. Each wiref has laterally-bent ends the outer face of a side or end bar of the frame, prevent the wire from drawing out of the L-shaped notch, and preclude spreading apart of the side bars or end bars from each other. The openings of the L-shaped notches d of the outer bars a, a, are arranged ont of line with the notches e of the intermediate bars a, so that the strips f after being seated in the notches e of the intermediate strip, require to be sprung laterally to enter the openings of the notches d. After being thus entered and pressed down to the level of the horizontal portions of the notches d, the ends of the strips f spring forward into said horizontal portions by reason of the resilience of said strips and their tendency to recover their normal form; and for the same reason they maintain their places in the horizontal portions of the notches and are not liable to be displaced.

The purpose of the intersecting strips and wires is to divide the frame into squares or sections, each of a size to accommodate one piece, bunch or cluster of fruit, or one article, and to sustain the pockets or bands by which the fruit is suspended.

The pockets are represented as formed of strips C of iiexible woven material, crossing each other at right angles in the bottom of each cell or pocket. Each strip is made fast to one of the side or end bars aor b, and carried thence over all theintermediate bars and wires to the opposite side or end bar where the second end is made fast. Sufficient length of material is provided in each strip to permit it to sag down in each cell or compartment far enough to form the pocket or holder g.

For the transportation of fruit, perfect ventilation is essential; yet it is also important that a com parativelylarge supportin g surface be provided, in order that the skin of the fruit may not be cut or bruised by its weight resting upon a narrow supporting surface. For this and other reasons hereinafter explained, we make use of a fabric commonly known as huckram, or of a fabric of like nature. This material is woven with a very open mesh, not unlike mosquito-netting, and is sized sufficiently to render it measurably stili?, and capable of retaining the shape into which it is pressed. When slightly moistened it will adhere to surfaces against which it may be pressed. By employing this fabric we are enabled readily to form the pockets g, either with or without the aid of molds, and by moistening the strips C at the points where they cross one another and Where they pass about the wires or bars, then slightly pressing the surfaces together, we are enabled to cause adhesion sufficient to maintain the parts in proper relation. In this way all need of stitching, riveting, or clamping is avoided, and the trouble, annoyance and expense of making a separate and special application of glue are obviated. The stifnessof the buckram and the consequent retention of form of the pockets prevents the fruit in one pocket from drawing into its cell an undue length of the band C, and also enables a series of the trays or carriers B to be nested or set one within another, so that they shall occupy but little more space than a single one.

The trays or carriers B are designed to be set or placed within the ordinary box or crate A, without any special preparation of the latter to receive it; hence it is necessary to provide the tray or carrier B with supporting posts or standards. For this purpose we may employ simple wooden blocks D, as in Figs. l, 2 and 3, recessed or cut away at the top to receive the side and end bars a and ZJ of the tray and secured thereto by staples i; or, as is preferred, we may form posts or standards E of wire, passed about the bars a. or 13, and twisted together, as shown in Fig. 5, the ends being turned outward to form feet j.

The wire standards are not only cheap and strong, but remain permanently attached to IOS IIO

. to privent injury through the frame, and in shipping, may be swung up into plane therewith.- l,

As now generally or universally constructed, crates vfor fruit lare Slatted, or are furnished with openings from end to end for the admission of air. When our trays are placed within such a crate, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the air entering through these openings is enabled to pass entirely around each piece or cluster of fruit, becauseeach cell or pocket is entirely separated from all others; and because the legs or posts E are ofsuch length that the pockets are wholly suspended -and that their bottoms cannot rest upon the crate, or upon the tier of fruit below them. When one tray is placed upon another, the posts of the lowermost one rest upon the bottom of the crate or box, andthe posts of those above rest upon the frames of lthose below, as in Fig. 2.

The openings 7c of the crate or box A are so located with reference to the trays and their pockets, that by looking through said openings from the sides and top and bottom of the crate, each piece or cluster of fruit may be inspected, Without opening the crate or disturbing its contents. This capability is important both to the dealer and to the purchaser, because it affords proper information without permitting the injury due to frequent and careless handling, pressing, and dropping of the fruit, as is now so common. As indicated, the trays may be put together complete, nested and shipped in that manner, the smallspace occu pied and the lightness of even a considerable number of the trays enabling a large shipment to be made at relatively small expense; but if it be desired to further reduce the cost, the side and end bars a and b may be bundled together as in Fig. 7, and shipped,-buckram, and wire for the cross bars being likewise bundled and shipped, or purchased at the place of use, as may be done in almost every small town.

From what has been said it will be apparent that the trays are simple, cheap and strong in construction; that the fruit is suspended from a frame possessing elasticity sufficient jar or concussion;

thathe frame does not extend to any considerable depth between the cells or pockets, and hence does not impede the circulation of air, or inspection of the fruit; and that whether the parts be separated or assembled, a large number may be placed, stored, or shipped in small space and without danger of injury if only ordinary care be taken. It will also be seen that the form and size of the frames and of their cells or pockets may be varied to adapt them to receive other merchandise requiring careful handling, ventilation, &c. Bottles, eggs, or other fragile goods may be thus carried in safety.

It is not essential that the trays be placed within crates or boxes, as they may be suitis complete in itself, and wholly disconnected from and independent of the crate or box, into which it can be placed and from which it may be removed at will.

Where the trays are of considerable size, i

or the fruits or other matters are heavy, posts orsupports may be used at intervals throughont the length and breadth of the tray.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- 1. In combination with a box or crate having openings in its walls for admission of air 'and light, a removable tray com prisinga shallow frame provided with shallow intersecting strips; pockets suspended from the frame and the cross strips; and legs placed beneath the frame and serving to hold the same at proper elevation.

2. A tray for use in fruit crates, comprising the following elements in combination, to

wit: an youter frame and cross strips dividing said frame into sections, the frame and strips being of small dimensions in vertical measurement and thereby prevented from obstructing air or vision; legs attached to the outer frame and serving to maintain the same at proper elevation; and iiexible bands hung from the frame and cross strips, and forming pockets in which fruit may be suspended above the level of the support upon which the legs of the tray rest.

3. Atray comprising narrow metallic strips ct and b provided with straight notches e, and with L-shaped notches d, said strips interlocked with each other; cross strips f, having their ends seated in the notches el; and crossed bands C of open-meshed fabric, suspended from the strips a, b, and f, and constituting pockets, substantially as set forth.

et. A tray frame consisting of an outer series of interlocking bars a and b, provided with L- shaped notches el; intermediate bars provided with straight notches e, the notches e being out of line with the notches d; and strips f, seated in the notches e and sprung into the notches d, substantially as set forth.

5. A tray frame consisting of bars a, and b, provided with notches c, d, and e, the notches d and e being out of line with one another, and the notches CZ being of L-Shape; and spring wires f seated in the notches d, e, and having their ends bent laterally Substantially IOO los

Ilo

as described and shown, whereby the frame is tied together. Y

6. As a new article of manufacture, a fruit tray having a shallow frame, and pockets depending from said frame and made smaller at their lower than at their upper ends, whereby they are adapted to be seated or nested in those of a. like tray, the shallow frames permitting such nesting.

7. A fruit trayhavinga shallow frame, aseres of pockets depending from said frame, and legs or standards adapted to be swung from their normal position to permit two or more trays to be nested or placed one Within another.

8. In combination with a separable or knock-down tray frame, a. series of narrow strips of buokram bent over said frame to form pockets, the buckram being adapted by reason of its adhesive sizing, to be made fast I5 to the frame bythe application of moisture and pressure, as set forth.

In witness whereof we hereunto set our hands in the presence of witnesses.

WILLIAM E. HOWELL. WILLIAM H. GILBERT.

Vitnesses to signature of W. E. Howell:

HORACE A. DODGE, C. C. BURDINE.

Witnesses to signature of W. H. Gilbert:

CEAS. E. KELLY, SAML. I-I. SHERROTT. 

